Electric fence post



Feb. 27, 1968 F. REZNICEK 3,370,834

ELECTRIC FENCE POST 7 Filed March 4, 1966 Frank Reznicek INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,370,834 ELECTRIC FENCE POST Frank Reznicek, 14127th St., Columbus, Nebr. 68601 Filed Mar. 4, 1966, Ser. No. 531,926 2Claims. (Cl. 256-) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A fence post having upperand lower post sections coaxially interlocked by a rigid insulatingmember which completely insulates the upper section from the lowersection. The insulating member forms a narrow drip edge in outwardlyspaced surrounding relation to the lower post section whereby there willbe no tendency for rainwater or the like to run in under the insulatingmember to the lower post section and thereby effect an electric leakage.

The instant invention is generally related to electric fencing, and ismore particularly concerned with an insulated fence post for use inconjunction with such fencing.

It is a primary object of the instant invention to provide an insulatedor insulating fence post which, while of a basically simpleconstruction, provides for an efficient and dependable insulating of thecharged wire.

Another significant object of the instant invention resides in theutilization of an insulator incorporated directly into the post itselfin a manner whereby the entire upper portion of the post is to beinsulated from the lower ground engaging portion of the post, therebyenabling an engagement of a charged wire with the post along a majorportion of the height thereof utilizing conventional wire engaging clipsor the like.

In addition, it is a significant object of the instant invention toprovide an insulator which is specifically defined so as to preventelectrical leakage or shorting under extreme weather conditions such asrainy weather or icy conditions.

Likewise, it is an object of the instant invention to provide aninsulator which can be accommodated to any conventional type of fencepost.

These objects are achieved through the utilization of an elongatedcylindrical rigid insulating member having upper and lower generallycoaxial bores within which the adjacent ends of upper and lower postsections are locked. The lower bore has, at the lower end thereof, aconical countersunk portion which defines a narrow drip edge inoutwardly spaced surrounding relation to the lower post section wherebyany rainwater or the like will drip freely from the insulator and notrun inwardly toward the lower post section in a manner which would tendto cause an electric leakage.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a section of electrical fencingwherein the insulated posts of the instant invention are utilized;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view taken substantiallyon the plane passing along line 2-2 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged perspective view, partially in section, of theinsulator per se; and

FIGURE 4 is a front elevational view of the insulated fence post.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, reference numeral 10 isused to generally designate a fence post insulated in accordance withthe instant invention and utilized for the support of charged electricfencing wire 12.

The post 10, which while illustrated as being in the nature of avertically elongated solid rod, can be of any suitable cross-sectionalshape such as the conventional T-post. The post 10 is divided into upperand lower post sections 14 and 16. The upper section 14 is completelyinsulated, by the insulator 18, from the lower section 16 and is capableof supporting the charged wire or wires 12 at any point along the lengththereof with the insulator 18 isolating or insulating the charge fromthe lower post section 16 and the supporting ground. The wires 12 can beof course supported on the upper post section 14 in any suitable manner,such as by means of the spring loaded clips, best seen in FIGURE 2. j

The insulator 18, which is to be preferably molded directly about theadjacent lower end portion 20 of the upper post section 14 and upper endportion 22 of the lower post section 16, is in the nature of anelongated solid cylindrical member, approximately six inches long.Regardless of whether the insulator 18 is actually molded about theadjacent post end portions 20 and 22, or is preformed, the end portions20 and 22 are in eifect received in a pair of opposed longitudinallyaligned centrally located blind bores 24 and 26. The upper bore 24extends downwardly from the fiat upper end 28 of the insulator 18 whilethe lower bore 26 extends upwardly from the lower end of the insulator18. The lower end of the insulator 18 includes an upwardly extendingconical countersunk portion 30 defining an enlarged mouth for thedownwardly directed lower blind bore 26. In this manner, a dependingshield is formed about the upper portion of the post section 16 inoutwardly spaced relation thereto immediately below the extreme upperend portion of the section 16 which is rigidly afilxed within the mainor gripping portion of the bore 26. The countersunk portion 30 tapersdownwardly and outwardly to the peripheral wall of the insulator 18 atthe lower end thereof so as to define a narrow drip edge 32. The outersurface of the insulator 18 is itself preferably perfectly smooth andcontinuous completely thereabout.

The narrow drip edge 32, in conjunction with the out wardly spacedshielded portion defined by the countersunk end 30 of bore 26, enablethe retention of the upper portion of the lower post section 16 in acompletely dry state, even in extremely heavy rain and icing conditions,thereby effectively preventing electric leakage and a possible shortingof the fence. In subjecting the insulator of the instant invention torain, the water will merely run down the smooth exterior of theinsulator 18 and drip from the lower annular drip edge 32, and will nottravel inwardly and up the sharply inclined countersunk portion 30, thusinsuring the retention of the dry state of the upper end of the lowerpost section 16.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that a highly unique whilestructurally simple fence post has been set forth, the insulator, of anysuitable insulating material, preferably being molded directly about theadjacent longitudinally spaced ends of the two post sections so as toform in effect a continuous integral unit with the upper post sectionincorporating wire mounting means, and with the lower post sectionincorporating suitable ground engaging anchor means such as indicated byreference numeral 34. In addition to its positive insulating qualities,the insulator itself is to be of a compact shape, preferably in thenature of an elongated solid cylinder, so as to neither add to the bulkof the post nor detract from the appearance thereof. Likewise, it shouldbe appreciated that the smooth cylindrical exterior of the insulator notonly insures an efiicient discharge of rain water therefrom in a mannerso as to prevent any possibility of shorting, but also eliminate anyprojections or the like such as might be easily broken through contacttherewith.

. The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A fence post for utilization in conjunction with electric fencing,said post comprising vertically aligned upper and lower post sectionsand an intermediate insulator positioned between said sections andrigidly interlocking the adjacent lower end portion of the upper sectionand upper end portion of the lower section, said insulator including alower portion surrounding the upper end portion of the lower section inoutwardly spaced relation thereto completely thereabout and below theextreme upper end thereof said insulator being vertically elongated,including a peripheral full length wall, and defining longitudinallyprojecting non-communicating bores extending into said insulator fromthe upper and lower ends thereof, said bores respectively receiving andretaining the lower end portion of the upper post and the upper endportion of the lower post, the lower end of the lower bore beingconically flared outwardly and downwardly completely about the lowerbore to the peripheral Wall and forming a narrow drip edge in outwardlyspaced surrounding relation to the bore received upper end portion ofthe lower post, said insulator being cylindrical in shape and having asmooth outer surface, said bores being axially aligned and coaxial withthe cylindrical insulator.

2. The fence post of claim 1 wherein said insulator is molded about theadjacent end portions and completely encloses said end portions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,250,517 5/1966 Bramley 25610FOREIGN PATENTS 1,123,847 6/ 1956 France.

815,755 7/1959 Great Britain. 286,796 '3/ 1953 Switzerland.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

DENNIS L. TAYLOR, Examiner.

